I received a pound of what was simply labeled 'Belgian Special B' as a gift from a supply shop that is located in another state. I brewed an excellent Brown Ale using some of this grain and was wondering if there was a good substitute that is more readily available.

Unfortunately, Special B malt was a trademark product of De Wulf Cosyns, the best of the Begian maltsters, in my opinion.

Interbrew, in their quest for world domination, bought this malting company about a year ago. Since Interbrew has long owned a malting division, it was bought as a competitive move and CLOSED. So, bye..bye Special B. Since I specialize in Belgian ales, and used a ton of their products, I was pissed to say the least !!!!!

I have found a perfect match made by the only remaining Belgian commercial, non-proprietary maltster, M. Dingemann's. But... alas... it is not available to home brewers to my knowledge.

Sans that source, the closest match I am aware of, but have not used, is Briess's ESB (Extra Special Briess). The beer that I have tasted that used it revealed a less raisiny character that the original B, but most of the character seems to be the same.

If you get desperate, I guess I might be able to ship you some Dingemann's when I next order it. This is a malt that I tend to use only in the winter season due to it's heavy flavors.

I have on my desk a package that reads "DeWolf-Cosyns Belgian Special B Malt Lovibond 100 Net Wt. 1 lb (454 g) Packaged by L.D. Carlson Kent Ohio, 44240"
This has been purchased at my local homebrew store within the last month. So which of the following is true?

A. My local store is selling old grains.

B. My local store has kidnapped key players in the Dewolf-Cosyns crew and is forcing them to produce Special B in a secret malting room in his basement.

C. The owner of my local homebrew store has been abducted by aliens-under the guise of interbrew. The aliens in attempt to take over the world have laced the now defunct Special B with mind control agents?

D. I have had too much to drink and need to take a nap?

E. I need to leave the country immediately and have my computer burned because I have uncovered the missing link in the alien conspircay theory?

I too can still get a limited amount of DWC through my wholesaler, Mid America Brewing Supplies. What you are seeing is the remnants of their last shipment before they closed in December 2001. If they also have base malts, they should be OK for another month or so if they stored it in <75% humidity @ 75 deg. F. If they have any of the roasted specialties, they should remain good for another 4-5 months if stored as above. If any of the above were pre-milled... eh... I'd check it REAL hard before using it !